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Monday, November 26, 2012

A fantastic bit of luck!

some of you may have noticed my awesome profile picture, which I have used on other sites as well. I use this image because I LOVE it, as it reminds me of me in so many ways - from the pouty/dreamy expression, to the wild hair, to the many little bits of shiny ephemera, all on a dark-bluish background (my favorite color). I can't remember how I found it, most likely on a search for a 'blue fairy' or a 'grumpy fairy', but when I saw it, it struck me deeply, and I pulled it off the web to add to my collection. there was no artist listed or I surely would have credited it properly, because I am a stickler for such things. I even remember re-searching the image to give it another go, as I really really wanted to give credit where it was due, but to no avail. the image's origins remained a mystery to me.

until TODAY! 'Laloofah' of Mehitable Days left a comment on a recent post of mine identifying both the artist and the painting, as it turns out they are her favorite - hooray! so I can now tell you all, and the world, that this image is titled 'Magpie Fairy', and it is by Josephine Wall - check out her website! my deepest respect goes out to Ms. Wall for creating this image, and I do hope she forgives me for using it all this time without proper acknowledgment of her hard work, and dedication to her wonderful art. below you will find the artist's description of her own work, which just made me love it even more!

Magpie Fairy

"I enjoyed painting this work, which I think of as the "Magpie Fairy" because just as the bird is
attracted to bright shiny objects which he collects, so too my fairy has been attracted to various
everyday objects.

Discarded as rubbish, or accidentally lost, she finds them irresistible and adorns
herself with them. Obviously because she is very tiny, the objects are depicted larger than life. I had
great fun deciding which objects may have been discarded by humans and would be small enough and
interesting enough for a fairy to collect.

As you can see there are many items, from safety pins and
paper clips to stamps and a bottle top, changed from the original wording "Dry" to read "Fey", obviously
she felt it was more appropriate, in addition to many forest items such as acorns and oak leaves, she has
nuts for rings and of course, last Christmas's broken 'fairy' light bulbs for earrings. Not a traditional
fairy but rather a streetwise, happy-go-lucky, modern fairy." - Josephine Wall

4 comments:

How fun! I just adore her artwork, and yep - this one is and always has been my favorite. I love the details of all the treasures she's collected, they look like things I'd have gathered on my walks. And the colors and glowing light in Ms. Wall's paintings are always so beautiful, I think that they, as much as the subject matter, are what make her art look other-worldly.

Thank you for the shout-out, I'm really glad I unwittingly helped you in your quest! Because I also love life's little synchronicities. :-) And now that you know who the artist is, you can find her art in greeting cards and other goodies (Leanin' Tree has a great selection).

thumbs up on synchronicity! and yes, I agree with you about the lighting - it does give it that extra-magical quality, and is a defining feature in my photographs, as well, so it's no wonder I felt drawn to her work. it is SO important to me to credit the work of an artist - I mean, I'd be pretty upset if someone was using my work without my permission, or straight-up copying it (which has happened). hey, you've done both me, and Josephine Wall, a good turn on this one - so you deserve proper credit, too!

"And so it is that we, as (people), do not exist until we do; and then it is that we play with our world of existent things, and order and disorder them, and so it shall be that Non-existence shall take us back from Existence, and that nameless Spirituality shall return to Void, like a tired child home from a very wild circus."